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Managing Bovine TB in wild deer
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Bovine TB Disease Surveillance & Deer Removal
Sharpshooting underway in bovine TB deer area

Managing Bovine Tuberculosis in Minnesota’s Wild Deer
Updates:
Board of Animal Health: Current Updates
Aerial deer removal operation to begin March 16 in bovine TB area –forest roads, trails, and WMAs to be temporarily closed. Full story...
Background

Turn in
Poachers
(TIP)
In the TB management areas there have been problems with individuals talking deer outside of the TB management zone

This is poaching and should be reported to law enforcement. Please use the TIP service to report such actions.
Since 2005 bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been detected in 11 cattle operations in northwestern Minnesota. The strain is consistent with bovine TB found in cattle in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conducted surveillance for the disease in hunter-harvested deer within a 15-mile radius of the infected farms every fall since 2005. To date, the disease has been confirmed in 24 free-ranging deer, and final test results are not completed for deer sampled this past fall. All infected deer have been adult animals and were taken within five miles of a cluster of five bovine TB-infected cattle operations.
Because of these discoveries, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) downgraded the state's bovine TB status from "free" to "modified accredited advanced" (MAA) in 2006. As a result, cattle producers across the state face mandatory testing of cattle and restrictions on cattle movement.
The discovery of additional bovine TB-infected livestock operations, as well as the increased number of infected wild deer, resulted in the state dropping another level in status to "modified accredited" (MA) in 2008. To help alleviate cattle restrictions statewide, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (BAH) applied for a Split-State Status, which was granted by the USDA in October 2008. As a result, a large part of the state was upgraded to MAA and a smaller section in northwestern Minnesota remains MA. The DNR is committed to assisting the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (BAH) in regaining the state's bovine TB-free status.
Current efforts to manage bovine TB in wild deer
Following the discovery of more infected deer in fall 2007, DNR decided to take more aggressive action to minimize the disease in wild deer.
In February 2008, DNR contracted with USDA Wildlife Services for assistance with deer removal within the Bovine TB Management Zone, with focus in a 164 square-mile core area that encompassed all the locations of infected deer found to-date. The primary method of deer removal by USDA in these critical areas was sharpshooting from the ground, although an aerial shooting operation was conducted in April to supplement the reduction effort.
The goal with this deer removal effort was to reduce the opportunity for deer-to-deer or deer-to-livestock transmission of bovine TB by removing potentially TB-positive deer through a reduction of deer densities in critical areas. The BAH, the Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association (MSCA), and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) all support this method of deer removal and believed it was immediately necessary to accomplish our goal.
Trained DNR staff examined all deer and lymph nodes were extracted for further testing for bovine TB. A total of 937 deer were removed by sharpshooting, including both the ground and aerial operations. An additional 125 deer were removed by landowners in the special landowner/tenant shooting zone. Six deer were found to be positive for bovine TB, all of which were harvested within five miles of previously infected cattle operations.
DNR plans to continue putting pressure on this deer herd. Liberal hunting was planned in the TB-affected area during fall 2008, including both an early antlerless season and January special hunt in DPA 101. In addition, new sampling goals were established in a Memorandum of Understanding with the USDA, which requested DNR sample 1,500 deer throughout the newly established Split State Zone, as well as 300 deer outside of the zone. During the fall hunting seasons, approximately 1,250 deer were sampled at deer registration stations in the northwest. None of the deer that were examined exhibited clinical signs of TB-infection (e.g. lesions on the lungs or inside the chest cavity), but final test results will not be completed until spring 2009.
In early February 2009, DNR conducted another aerial survey to assess deer numbers and distribution within the core area, and estimated the deer population to be 664 ±87 deer. Even though a large number of deer were harvested from this area in 2008, DNR did not achieve a significant reduction in deer abundance from 2007's population estimate of 803 ±133 deer.
Enforcement officers continue to search for illegal deer feeding sites, which can lead to enforcement investigations aimed at stopping these illegal activities. Another deer removal effort is planned in the TB core beginning in late February and will involve both ground sharpshooting and an aerial operation in March. Again, the goal of this effort will be to reduce the opportunity for disease spread by removing potentially TB-positive deer within the core area.
Future plans
DNR will continue monitoring for the disease through sampling of hunter-harvested deer. DNR is planning to conduct hunter-harvested surveillance within the larger bovine TB surveillance zone in fall 2009, with a sampling goal of 1,800 deer. This level of surveillance will continue every fall until we have 5 consecutive years of no positives. At that time, DNR may suspend surveillance efforts as the disease will not be present at a detectable level in wild deer.
For more information on bovine tuberculosis contact Dr. Michelle Carstensen, DNR wildlife disease coordinator, (651) 296-2663



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